Additional Benefits of Meditation

In addition to the health benefits of meditation, there are countless other ways that the practice of meditation can enrich a persons life. One of these other benefits is the ability to get to know our true selves; through mindful meditation, one can objectively observe themselves and discover blind spots in their vision of themselves and the world around them. Meditation can also improve academic grades; according to a University of California Santa Barbara study, mindful mediation improves cognitive function and can help raise test scores. This practice is also being used to help American military troops perform better and deal with stress. Meditation can also prevent mental illness or disease; researchers at the University of Oregon found that mindful mediation actually changed the brain in a protective way by increasing signaling connections and protective tissue around the axons in the anterior cingulate brain region. It can also helps the brain better control processing of pain and emotion which can help to become more focused, deal with the stress and fatigue of arthritis, lower general stress levels, makes music sound better, and help deal with the stress of cancer. Mindfulness can help doctors do their jobs more efficiently by allowing them to become less judgmental, more self-aware and to become better listeners. The most important benefit of mindful meditation is that it makes us more compassionate people.